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We’ve had our BWP/Ebony 2.4 Tech for a couple of weeks now and I wanted to provide an initial review. For reference, our other cars are my wife’s Cadillac ATS 2.0T, my Mazda Miata MX-5 and my Lexus IS250 (replaced by the TLX).
EXTERIOR DESIGN – Nothing special but somewhat distinctive and should age well. Still not sure I like the wheels, but with tire dressing on the tires, they look O.K. with the BWP color.
INTERIOR DESIGN – I like it. Perhaps too much soft plastic expanse on the dash for a true luxury look/feel, but otherwise fine. I like the two screen set-up with map closer to eye level and other controls lower on the display. Sometimes the lower display is tough to see in bright sunlight. Ergonomics appear very good – comfortable seats and everything seems to be where it should be. Instrumentation is good, but I’d add a selectable digital speed readout between the gauges.
RIDE COMFORT AND QUIETNESS – Wonderful, confirms everything written about it. Some noise from the 4 cylinder under spirited acceleration, but not obtrusive. Very comfortable cruiser on our crappy freeways.
POWERTRAIN – Engine is very smooth and acceleration is adequate for me (about the same as the IS250 and Miata). The 8 sp DCT shifts crisply and fairly smoothly. One place the engine/transmission combination shines is highway cruising. With modest engine power, it’s important to be in the proper power band for passing, etc. The DCT always gets you in the right power band at highway speeds, seamlessly. If you didn’t notice the tach movement or engine sound change, you probably wouldn’t even notice the gear change. Nice.
HANDLING/STEERING – Handling is adequate with little or no torque steer and just a bit of understeer. Darn good for a FWD. Steering is a bit non responsive, but tightens up in Sport and Sport+ modes.
BRAKES – Adequate but not exceptional at all. Haven’t had the opportunity to test fade resistance.
DRIVING MODES – I use Normal or Sport around town, never use Econ. I use Sport on the highway for the increased steering response. Sport+ when I want to shift manually. Manual shifts aren’t as fast and crisp as I expected with a DCT – my Miata conventional AT in manual mode is probably better. And I miss not being able to manually shift with the shift lever (but at least we have a lever). I’ll probably get more used to the paddles.
DRIVING AIDS – Neat and work as advertised. I especially like the Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Camera with Cross Traffic Alert. I may not use the other aids much, but they’re there if I want them. The only thing I’d add is front and rear parking assist sensors (and I’d be willing to pay for them).
AUDIO – Easy to use and the ELS sound is great; however, I agree with those who say it needs more base.
NAV – First car with NAV and I like it. I’m still learning how to use it, but it could prove useful since we don’t have a hand-held unit.
PHONE – No comment since I don’t make/receive calls while driving.
SPACE – We like the front seat space since my IS250 always felt a little confining. Back seat space seems adequate and trunk size is fine for us.
FUEL ECONOMY – My only “requirements” are greater than 20 mpg with mostly city driving and about 30 mpg with sustained highway driving. Looks like both will be met. Capless fuel filling works as advertised.
SUMMARY – A great balance between luxury and sportiness at a very reasonable cost. If you want a true sport sedan, you might consider something like an ATS, BMW 3 Series or Lexus IS350. If you want true luxury, something like the larger Cadillacs, Mercedes or Audis. But all of these will cost significantly more and operating costs may be higher also. The TLX is indeed a nice car.
EXTERIOR DESIGN – Nothing special but somewhat distinctive and should age well. Still not sure I like the wheels, but with tire dressing on the tires, they look O.K. with the BWP color.
I agree 100% - although the wheels have grown on me and I quite like them now. Maybe it's some odd modified case of the stockholm syndrome - dunno.
RIDE COMFORT AND QUIETNESS – Wonderful, confirms everything written about it. Some noise from the 4 cylinder under spirited acceleration, but not obtrusive. Very comfortable cruiser on our crappy freeways.
Bingo! This is the heart and soul of the car IMHO and what Acura was really shooting for. I.e., more comfort than sport although there *is* some sport feel to it.
HANDLING/STEERING – Handling is adequate with little or no torque steer and just a bit of understeer. Darn good for a FWD. Steering is a bit non responsive, but tightens up in Sport and Sport+ modes.
I think it handles quite well - given the all season tires and whatnot. It has *much* less body roll and understeer than my Accord EXL - not sure if it's the PAWS at work or not but it feels very planted in all everyday driving scenarios.
DRIVING MODES – I use Normal or Sport around town, never use Econ. I use Sport on the highway for the increased steering response. Sport+ when I want to shift manually. Manual shifts aren’t as fast and crisp as I expected with a DCT – my Miata conventional AT in manual mode is probably better. And I miss not being able to manually shift with the shift lever (but at least we have a lever). I’ll probably get more used to the paddles.
Aye - the paddles have just a slight delay before the shift happens - not bad but you know it's not a true manual in Sport+ mode even though you're doing the shifting.
DRIVING AIDS – Neat and work as advertised. I especially like the Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Camera with Cross Traffic Alert. I may not use the other aids much, but they’re there if I want them. The only thing I’d add is front and rear parking assist sensors (and I’d be willing to pay for them).
I'd love front sensors - or even a front camera.
AUDIO – Easy to use and the ELS sound is great; however, I agree with those who say it needs more base.
The ELS is great for the type of music I like - classic rock, jazz, etc. I think the bass response is fine for those genres. One thing to note though - I use an ipod with some EQ done on it so I may be getting better sound than the straight EQ offered via ELS. Which actually brings a nit I have to pick - why don't these systems come with 7 band EQ? It's all software, right - so it would be easy to do and would be a great addition.
Personally I think the design of the new IS, looks better than the TLX or anything in the Acura line up.
Did you shop the new IS, or did you want something diff?
The TLX doesn't have a gas cap, just open the outer fuel door, insert the gas nozzle and fill 'er up.
I also like the new IS, and I did consider it, but not strongly. We were ready for something different, bigger and more comfortable. Also, the IS, configured the same, costs more. It's a smaller thing, but I also don't like their 6 month interval for their expensive routine maintenance, regardless of mileage. Once a year is about right for low mileage (less than 6K/yr).
But it is a nice car - I'd probably splurge and get the IS350 though.
Note - Sorry, didn't see STEWs response above
Last edited by wlkeel; 03-02-2015 at 12:44 PM.
Reason: added note
The TLX doesn't have a gas cap, just open the outer fuel door, insert the gas nozzle and fill 'er up.
I also like the new IS, and I did consider it, but not strongly. We were ready for something different, bigger and more comfortable. Also, the IS, configured the same, costs more. It's a smaller thing, but I also don't like their 6 month interval for their expensive routine maintenance, regardless of mileage. Once a year is about right for low mileage (less than 6K/yr).
But it is a nice car - I'd probably splurge and get the IS350 though.
Many TLX drivers have complained about the two LCD setups for the infotainment system and control interface. I personally like it except for the "tedious" way to turn on heated seats. Is it becoming a trend now such that several new models have adopted this setup? Perhaps everyone is learning from Tesla? For example, Infinity Q50. See pictures below. But Q50 have the heated seat as a physical button.
So the TLX Advance/Elite is better than models with buttons, but 3-setting buttons is better than TLX Tech with touch screen. Discussed, beaten to death. It is what it is, and unlikely to be changed for at least another year, maybe more.
03-02-2015, 11:28 AM
